Human Relations Book Lists

Folk artist Bill Traylor began his artistic career when he was in his eighties.

"An African American man tells his grandson about a time when, despite all the wonderful things his hands could do, they could not touch bread at the Wonder Bread factory."

100-year-old Mr. Baker and young Harry are both learning to read.

A grandmother and her granddaughter explore the North Woods together.

In the last years of his life, Henri Matisse created amazing and beloved paper cut-out art.

"When her maternal grandfather comes from China, Helen, who is biracial, develops a special bond with him despite their age and language differences."

An older, white-haired O'Keeffe spends a day creating art in her southwestern desert home.

While a young boy is frightened by the city he's visiting, his Nana is happy and at home there.

When Amos takes a sick day from his work at the zoo, his animal friends come to visit him at home.

A teacher who "could have retired a long time ago" (she also taught the narrator's Mama and Grandmamma!) continues to make a difference in her school

Abuelita has two very important jobs: being a grandmother, and being a storyteller.

"When Ming Da's Chinese grandpa comes to visit, he overcomes his initial embarrassment at his grandfather's traditions and begins to appreciate him."

Miss Rumphius promised herself she would travel the world, live by the sea, and make the world more beautiful.

"A shy boy, seeking the courage to play baseball with the other children in a park, is coaxed out of his shell by some "old timers" sitting nearby who, in turn, discover they are still in the game." This is a wordless picture book.

"A child imagines being old with Grandaddy and joining him in such activities as playing cards all day, visiting the ocean, and eating bacon on the porch."

An old, old man tells stories to a young friend and explains that within his old, old self still lives a very little boy.

"A young boy helps his two neighbors, one as neat as a pin and the other as junky as a pack rat, become friends."

"A grandmother and grandchild cannot always be together, but the great distance is bridged by the love they share and the moon they both see."

"Young Junho does not like to listen to the boring childhood stories that his grandfather tells, but as the two build a kite together, Jinho sees the old man in a new light."

Mrs. Goldman always knits hats for everyone in the neighborhood, and Sophia, who thinks knitting is too hard, helps by making the pom-poms. But now winter is here, and Mrs. Goldman herself doesn't have a hat--she's too busy making hats for everyone else! It's up to Sophia to buckle down and knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman. But try as Sophia might, the hat turns out lumpy, the stitches aren't even, and there are holes where there shouldn't be holes. Sophia is devastated until she gets an idea that will make Mrs. Goldman's hat the most wonderful of all.

"Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it."

Mr Putter and his cat, Tabby, go to the library for storytime. There are A LOT of books in the Mr. Putter & Tabby series.

"Henry and his dog Mudge go with Henry's parents to visit Great-Grandpa Bill in the home with lots of other grandpas."

"Little Red Riding Hood is worried about her Granny. Granny's recovered from her scare with the Big Bad Wolf, but she's lonely. Thankfully Little Red Riding Hood is on the case! She is ready to find her Granny some new hobbies and some new friends."

"When twelve-year-old Grady and his mother relocate yet again, they find work taking care of an elderly man, who teaches Grady about cars, birds, and what it means to have a home."

"One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed."

"At age eight, Mikha'el knows he is different from other boys, but over the course of three years as he helps his parents care for his elderly grandfather in Jerusalem, Grandpa teaches Mikha'el to use the gift they share of making other people's dreams sweeter."

"Together with Grampa, Ray Halfmoon, a Seminole-Cherokee boy, finds creative and amusing solutions to life's challenges."

"Ten-year-old Junebug discovers that bullies are everywhere and that the elderly can make great friends."

"Sixteen-year-old Brittany acts as chauffeur for her grandmother and three other eighty-plus-year-old women going to what is supposedly their college reunion, on a long drive that involves lies, theft, and kidnappings."

"In the summer of her junior year, sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen and her mother, both nursing broken hearts, set out on a journey to reunite an elderly woman with her long-lost love and in the process learn many things about 'the real ties that bind' people to one another."

After 22 of his 38 months in juvie, 14-year-old Reese is assigned to a work-release program at a senior center.

"Fifteen-year-old Grace Manning is a candy striper in a nursing home, and Mr. Sands is the one patient who makes the job bearable. He keeps up with her sarcasm, teaches her to play poker . . . and one day cheerfully asks her to help him die."

"Melly and Anny Beth both lived normal lives throughout the 20th century. But in 2000, when they are old and ready to die, they are selected to participate in Project Turnabout and are given an injection to make them grow younger."

Hendrix, is kind of a poet, but also kind of lost. Gpa is his only real family, but he's fading fast from Alzheimer's. Hendrix has promised Gpa that he'll get him back east to the hill where he first kissed his wife, before his illness wipes away all memory of her.